Subsidy Removal: Ogun Reactivates Bulk Purchase Programme

Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed plans by his administration to reactivate the state owned ‘Bulk Purchase Program’ under its Gateway Trading.

Abiodun, who made this known during an interview in Abeokuta, Ogun State, said his administration would also introduce an agriculture and food palliative which according to him would help “at supporting our farmers so that we can boost food production.”

The governor said the Bulk Purchase Programme would allow the state government to purchase food items at pre-deregulation prices.

“In terms of food palliatives, we are now going to reactivate our Bulk Purchase Program under the Gateway Trading and through different channels and warehouses in different parts of the state. We will be selling food items like grains and rice that we will be purchasing from the Central Bank of Nigeria at pre-deregulation prices,” he said.

The governor also said that the introduction of an Energy Transition Plan, which was conceived some months back by his administration, would allow the state to migrate from depending on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or diesel to power public transportation to using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Abiodun noted that the plan of his administration was to convert mini buses owned by individuals in the state at the expense of the state government because of the financial requirements, adding that the first set of vehicles with CNG would be unveiled during the week.

Governor Abiodun also disclosed that an infrastructure initiative will be introduced by his administration that would allow community leaders, market women and religious bodies to identify three roads in their area with immediate intervention such as reconstruction, repair or maintenance.

“We have what we call the Infrastructure Initiative. I have asked that each local government in unison with leaders in that locality, community leaders, market women, religious bodies identify three roads in each local government for us to immediately begin to either reconstruct, repair or maintain,” he said.

The governor further noted that the N10,000 allowance for civil servants and pensioners was to cushion the effect of the increased cost of transporting themselves to work, adding that hazard allowance, peculiar allowances and promotion allowances would also be paid.

Abiodun also disclosed that civil servants have been asked to maintain about 80 per cent presence in their various offices so that not everybody has to come to work every day.